John J. Hartnett

Body Height, Position, and Sex as Determinants of Personal Space

Summary The effects of body height, body position, and sex on personal space were investigated in a laboratory setting. Forty-one males and 43 females approached either a tall object person or a short object person with instructions to stop when they felt “uncomfortable.” Subjects approached the object person twice, once with the object person in a standing position and once with the object person in a sitting position. Height and position were found to be significant determinants of personal space, while position × sex was also significant. Results are discussed from a social as well as an ethological point of view.

Interpersonal Attraction and Help Volunteering as a Function of Physical Attractiveness

Summary The effects of physical attractiveness on both interpersonal attraction and help-volunteering behavior were measured. First, 20 male and 20 female undergraduates viewed two male stimulus persons in a short videotape debate and rated them on a semantic differential scale. The “debaters” were discrepant both in physical attractiveness and behavior, adopting either a “nice” or “obnoxious” demeanor. In the second phase E asked subjects to help one of two female stimulus persons who were also discrepant in physical attractiveness. In both phases subjects were affected significantly by the physical attractiveness of the stimulus persons regardless of the sex of the subjects. The more attractive male was rated higher on favorable traits, and the more attractive female stimulus person more readily drew volunteers; in neither phase was there a significant sex of S × sex of stimulus person interaction. Added strength is given to this finding by virtue of a behavioral measure.

Implied Threat and the Territorial Factor in Personal Space

Body territory may be a useful concept when personal space is studied under conditions of threat. It is predicted that, under conditions implying physical threat, defense of body territory will be greatest in the condition of male-to-male movement, that the male object-person will be a greater source of threat than the female object-person, and that anxiety will be associated with greater intervening distances for both sexes. Each S (male or female) approached and was approached by his respective object-person (male or female), providing measures of invading and being invaded behaviors. The major findings were: Ss tended to stay farther from the male than the female object-person; males showed the strongest sex-of-object effect, with approach toward the female object being more influential than avoidance of the male object; female Ss were more influenced by anxiety; and male Ss were most influenced by degree of heterosexuality. It was concluded that partial support was evidenced for what could be called a body territorial factor in human space behavior.

DEVELOPMENT OF A SCALE FOR ASSESSMENT OF JEALOUSY

Based on a review of the literature on jealousy and depth interviews with 25 adults, a pool of items was developed for a preliminary study of the measurement of jealousy. A total of 141 college students completed the 92-item inventory. The data were factor analyzed, yielding 5 dimensions; need for loyalty, need for intimacy, moodiness, self-confidence, and envy. An intensified 31-item inventory was administered to 94 additional students. Factor analysis of the data yielded essentially identical factors.

Modeling and Personal Space Behavior in Children

Summary Approach vs. be approached behavioral measures of personal space were taken on 102 fifth and sixth grade children, each of whom was assigned to one of three groups: (a) Model-Close condition, (b) Model Far condition, and (c) No-Model Control group. A male peer served as model (M), and a 41-year-old female served as the object person. Results revealed a strong modeling tendency with both girls and boys tending to stay close or far from the object person as a function of M behavior. Boys and girls tended to behave similarly in the Close and Far modeling groups, but girls used more space in the No-Model Control condition. These findings suggest that modeling had an attenuating effect on sex differences in use of space. It was concluded that modeling theory is a viable conceptual tool for use in personal space research.

BODY SIZE AS IMPLIED THREAT: EFFECTS ON PERSONAL SPACE AND PERSON PERCEPTION

Following ethological theory, it was hypothesized that personal space and person perception would reflect implied threat in the form of “territorial sets” and body-size variables. 90 male undergraduates were randomly assigned to six treatment groups in a 2 (size of object person) × 3 (levels of threat) × 2 (approach or be approached) design. Personal space was not significantly influenced by the treatments, but strong findings emerged from the person perception data. An operational measure of “psychological advantage” based on ratings of the object minus self-ratings on aggression, strength, and muscularity showed both body-size and threat effects. Generally, the large object person increased his advantage over the subject as threat increased, while the opposite was true with respect to the small object person.

Perception of the Müller-Lyer illusion for augmenters and reducers: an exploratory study.

This study examined kinesthetic aftereffect performance and accuracy in judging relative line length of the Müller-Lyer illusion. The relationship between field articulation and scanning principles identified by Gardner (1961) was not confirmed.